Internet problems

It has been a few days since I posted .. We have been having Internet problems.. I won't go into the sordid details but it has been very frustrating.. We no longer have our Internet card so we have been going to the local Starbucks to use the computer. Hopefully soon we will be able to access a wireless connection from the condo again.. So hopefully by Thursday something will fixed:)
Yesterday I tried my first attempt on a real 9 foot surf board.. and all I can say is WOW! I really thought I was going to die and be dragged under the ocean never to be found again.....I have a new respect for surfers out there.. It is not as easy as it looks and is pretty dangerous. I never did make it to the standing position so I can just imagine how much more crazy it is when you are standing up.. The waves push you so fast then flips the board right out from under neath you and then drags you under for a bit till the wave passes over you .... Of course you have the safety strap around your ankle so that you don't loose your board but that also means you go where your board goes ... shooting at an insane speed across the ocean..hahah it was defiantly an experience.. Yes I will probably be out there again because I am crazy like that...haha or i am just asking for a death wish...haha... Donny and Owen took the boards out for about 3 hours and they are beat up... We realize now that all surfers must be in incredible shape.. now that I think about it you don't see surfers caring around alot of extra junk in the trunk..heehee... So our new goal now is to get in a little more shape so we can least survive a few hours out there with the big boys.. Hopefully the Internet will be up and running soon .. I'll keep everyone posted.....

Christmas Day

The kids must have this inner clock that tells them it is Christmas day and they must get up at the break of dawn and play with every toy they got the day before. I think I heard them up way before 7am today.. way too early for anyone to be up and about!! Amanda and Donny cooked a nice Christmas morning breakfast ..eggs, sausage, and biscuits. Then we let the kids open there stockings and then headed to the ICE show.





The ICE show was a huge dome of ice sculptures and ice slides that you walk through.. It was 9 degrees in the building so we had to come up with some warm clothes for the kids.. Which was not an easy task. When Wal-mart is closed you know your going to have problems finding anything open. No one had pants for the kids so we found some tall men's tube socks to put on them at the local Walgreen's with mix matched gloves and hats .





All the following pictures are from inside the ICE show. Everything in it was made out of ice.. They had 24,000 pounds of ice brought in and it took them over 2 months to carve the ice sculptures.

They had 4 slides set up for people to go down made of all ice.

Torin was so excited to go down he went down a couple times . Every time he went down he would flap his arms like a bird..I'm not sure but I think he thought he would go faster....

Sage was so tired .. I think here she was asking to go home and telling us that she was toooo cold for the hundredth time:-)

It was a lot of fun to see all the ice and to have ONE day to experience the freezing temperatures that you all up north are experiencing everyday. But tomorrow is another day and we are headed to the beach to get out the surf boards again:-)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve... A time of food, gifts and family... It was a great evening....Amanda had to work till 3pm today so I began the cooking. It was the first time attempting to cook a turkey. It actually wasn't so bad:) A few of the items on the menu tonight were:

A nice green Spinach salad with, cranberries,almonds and walnuts

Some spinach and cheese appetizers
Rolls
Homemade cranberry-orange walnut sauce
Garlic mashed potatoes Sauteed Garlic and almond green beans

and Owen's favorite ..A glass of Sparkling Grape Juice

I also made Homemade stuffing and of course the turkey ( sorry none of my pictures turned out for the turkey.. but it was good)

After dinner we all went to open the loot..... the kids were bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Gus even got into all the excitement ... He was in paper heaven!!.. he got a few pieces stuck in his teeth during all the wrestling....haha

May the force be with you.......

(Said in the best star wars voice:-)

Owen was pretty excited about his Rubix cube.. he already had the laptop out and googled all the tricks and info on how to solve it.... hahaha.. I know big *sigh*....So typical:-)

Thanks to the Townsends , Grandma & Grandpa Smith, and Grandma Sandy for all the special gifts !!

There was only one thing left to do..to end the night.. a nice back rub for the chef..heehee..
And a slice of Red velvet Cake topped with a creamy vanilla icing..yum yum!!!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!!!!